


Monsters Among Men

by disgracefulwriting



Category: Kuroshitsuji Black Butler
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-27 20:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10816326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disgracefulwriting/pseuds/disgracefulwriting
Summary: Agatha Dorsey, an asset in an ongoing investigation, uncovers dark secrets regarding the Earl Phantomhive and his butler.





	Monsters Among Men

It happened in the early hours of the morning, long before farmers roused to tend to the day's chores or merchants set up shop at sunrise. Toward the village outskirts, a certain young noble looked on with mild annoyance. The fire crackled and hissed as red-orange flames licked at the walls of the crumbling structure, but he seemed apathetic to the stench of burning flesh. It was merely a reminder of his own carelessness and misplaced actions. 

There had to be a rat, Ciel reasoned. Three tireless months of plotting and searching shouldn't have led him here. It was impossible. The Queen's patience was already running thin, but now that he had allowed victory to slip between his fingers... there would certainly be ramifications. Oh, when he found the rat—an impish grin crept its way across his features at the thought—there would be hell to pay.

A loud snap, the sound of wood splitting, echoed across the property. From what the boy could see, the building was going to cave sooner than he had anticipated, and there would be nothing left to salvage. They needed to move on quickly. The cursed mark beneath his eyepatch burned. "Oi! Sebastian! Hurry up, will you?"

He knew he could be heard over the roar of the fiery inferno, but whether the blasted devil was ignoring out of spite he would never know. As the establishment toppled, a figure emerged from the burning wreckage. Ciel let out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding. Though he would never admit it, a small part of him was relieved at the familiar sight of his servant approaching him.

"Young master, I have completed the task." The butler was true to his word. He no longer adjourned his tailcoat, having chosen to make use of it as a makeshift blanket for the unconscious child—a girl no more than a few years younger than Ciel himself—in his arms. He inspected her quietly. Dark, matted hair clung to her bloody scalp and swollen face. A stream of red trickled down from a gash on her left temple, mixing with dirt and sweat. Her eyes remained closed, but he could hear hoarse sobs and incoherent murmurs from coming from her throat. She shivered as he removed the tailcoat. She wore a plain nightgown, but it left most of her figure bare. Her skin was raw and blistered, and thick puss oozed from the cuts and scrapes. He gagged and stepped away.

"Filthy," he muttered. "Why the girl?"

The demon smirked at his master's squeamish behavior. "The only soul alive in the facility, I'm afraid. With proper care, she should make full recovery. I could put her back, if you would like."

"That will not be necessary." Ciel glared at the valley below as the demented butler laughed to himself. He thought he could hear shouting in the distance. "Fetch a carriage and let us be on our way. I would like to return to the manor before daybreak."

Sebastian bowed at the waist, a proper servant once more. "Yes, my lord." However, when he moved to place the girl with his charge, the boy's obvious discomfort stopped him in his tracks. He smirked. "Is something wrong, young master? I can't take the girl with me. In her current condition, she might become more ill and die."

"No, nothing is wrong." The Earl huffed and, albeit begrudgingly, placed her against his shoulder. He waited until the butler went off to pull out a handkerchief and start dabbing at the blood her face. Ciel was never one to place faith in his pawns. He was the dictator of their actions and decisions, and he decided how the game was played. Yet, here he was, exhausted of all other options. Maybe it was the steadied rise and fall of her chest, maybe it was the similarities between their situations, but he believed in her. She was going to become one of his most useful pieces yet.

Sebastian reappeared not too soon after this revelation, carriage drawn and ready, and the Earl, his butler, and the girl disappeared into the night. By morning, St. Dymphna's Asylum of the Mentally Unsound was no more.


End file.
